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Tag Archives: cultural appropriation

In a truly compelling clip from MSNBC, Melissa Harris-Perry argues why the recent viral video phenomenon of masked, jerking dancing set to Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” is just another example of the misappropriation of African-American culture, in this case, a Harlem-based dance move that originated in the 1980s.

So what does this have to do with belly dance? Besides the obvious belly dance versions of the new ‘Harlem Shake’, the notions of cultural appropriation and fusion have been hot topics in the BD world for several years.

What is belly dance, how do you define it, who has the “right” (if anyone) to perform it, and when does fusion turn into (con)fusion or, worse, something downright offensive?

As Harris-Perry and residents of Harlem observed, the chaotic new ‘Harlem Shake’ craze has nothing to do with the intricate, on-beat dance steps of the original Shake. While the idea of absolute authenticity is a shaky one (after all, everything changes at some point), as is the idea that dance must be exclusive to one people or another, there’s something to be said about moving so far away from the original as to erase any hint of it. In the case of the new ‘Harlem Shake,’ the original name is used while the original dance steps and heritage are ignored; it’s false advertising at best, and total ignorance at its worst.

So what about ‘Belly Dance’ and all its recent fusions? Is there a line crossed when the movements, music and costuming are so far away from the original that they are no longer belly dance, but something else? Should fusionistas seek new names for their art, or continue to use the name ‘belly dance?’

While the dance community might be aware of the many debates, and history of the many dances under the umbrella of ‘belly dance,’ most of the general public isn’t, and will consider what they see advertised as ‘belly dance’ as just that…BELLY DANCE, just like the many ‘Harlem Shakers’ unaware of that dance’s long history believe that donning a mask and flailing is doing the shake.

Where do you stand on the new ‘Harlem Shake,’ or on fusion in belly dance?